Sleep next to your partner It is the routine of many couples, a simple daily gesture that has attracted the attention of the scientific world, revealing the effects that it can have on the people involved. In addition to immediate emotional comfortsleeping next to the loved one is not just a romantic gesture, but it is a psychobiological act load of implications. Studies show that the physical proximity At the time of falling asleep it can have profound effects on the quality of sleep and individual psychological health and the couple: it reduces stress and anxiety of attachment, synchronizes sleep cycles, promoting REM sleep and strengthens the quality of the relationship. However, Not all couples sleep better together: The quality of the relationship and individual needs play a fundamental role. That’s why, after all, the way we sleep can tell a lot about who we are also awake and not only in sleep.
Sleeping together reduces stress and improves sleep quality
In a study published on Journal of Social and Personal Relationships At the beginning of 2025, the researchers tried to understand how the physical proximity At the time of the falling asleep he could influence the level of perceived stressinsecurity in attachment and sleep quality of 143 couples. Using sophisticated statistical models, they discovered that the couples who fell asleep in closer positions (e.g. in spoon, embraced, face to face) reported lower levels of stress, associated with a type of attachment to the safest partner. However, The quality of sleep perceived did not seem directly influenced by physical closeness. In practice, physical contact before sleeping does not necessarily improve sleep itselfbut it can strengthen the sense of emotional safetya crucial element in every relationship.
But the strength of a relationship goes far beyond the vigil, as reported by a 2020 study published on Fronde in psychiatry. Henning J. Drews and his team monitored the sleep of 12 couples in the laboratory through Polisonnography, A technique that records brain waves, eye movements, heartbeat and other parameters to monitor the health of our rest. Each couple slept together and separately, in two different weekends: when the couples slept together, their REM sleepthe phase linked to memory and emotional processing, increased the 10%, And it was also more stable and less fragmented.
The researchers also noticed that the Sleeping phases synchronized Among the partners, also excluding the moments of vigil. This “night dance” has been measured with complex analysis of non -linear correlation. From the analysis of the data and results of the study, it emerged that the depth of the relationship positively this synchronization also emerged. In short, it seems that the most close -knit couples and with a solid and profound relationship “sleep together” not only physically, but also on a neurological level.
Sleep as a mirror of the relationship
Even a very recent Systematic revision and meta -analysis (one of the most in -depth analysis type of analysis that examines a large number of clinical studies in the literature) published on Sleep Medicine Reviews, He confirmed the results of individual clinical studies. The authors have in fact examined 62 studies, with a total of over 43,000 participants, to understand the link between Quality of the couple relationship and the quality of sleep.
The analysis showed that one satisfactory couple relationship It is associated (moderately) with one Better quality and more sleep durability. More in the couple the partners are able to respond to the emotional needs of the other (partner’s reactivity), more satisfying and better quality even sleep itself.
On the contrary, in the relationships in which they were present Couple conflicts have been detected A worst quality of sleep It is a more fragmented sleep. This meta-analysis confirms that the Relational well -being is closely intertwined with night well -being: sleeping well and love each other can be two sides of the same medal.
